Muhammad Ahmad

Muhammad Ahmad (12 August 1844-22 June 1885) was the ruler of Mahdist Sudan from 1881 to 1885, preceding Abdallahi ibn Muhammad. Ahmad claimed to be the "Mahdi", the man who would clear the way for the return of Jesus and would prepare the world for judgment day. He attracted an army of Ansar followers and fought against the armies of the United Kingdom, Egypt, Italy, Ethiopia, and the Congo Free State in the Mahdist War. He died in 1885, shortly after conquering Khartoum from the British.

Biography
Muhammad Ahmad was born in Labab Island, Dongola, Sudan on 12 August 1844 to a family of Sunni Afro-Arabs,  and he became the leader of the Samaniyya Sufi order in Sudan. During the 1880s, Ahmad became the leader of a movement of fundamentalists in Sudan, seeking to create an Islamic state under sharia rule. Ahmad claimed to be the Mahdi, and that he had been sent by God to clear the way for the return of Jesus and judgment day. Ahmad gathered large armies of Ansar supporters who were opposed to British and Egyptian rule and embarked on a campaign of relentless warfare against the Anglo-Egyptian armies. His revivalist movement scored several victories over the occupying forces, and he conquered Khartoum from the British general Charles Gordon at the start of 1885. Ahmad died suddenly six months after his capture of Khartoum, and Abdallahi ibn Muhammad succeeded him as Mahdi.